Smoke That Thunders [Paperback]

What is young David Livingstone doing on the run in Africa, with his mother’s credit card in his pocket and the Tanzanian police in hot pursuit? And what is he doing on Hell Road, a potholed obstacle course to the Zambian border, where cannibals lie in wait – car cannibals that is – and the rumour of Duma the Cheetah keeps spreading?

What is young David Livingstone doing on the run in Africa, with his mother's credit card in his pocket and the Tanzanian police in hot pursuit? And what is he doing on Hell Road, a potholed obstacle course to the Zambian border, where cannibals lie in wait -- car cannibals that is -- and the rumour of Duma the cheetah keeps spreading? The truth is that David can't answer these questions himself. Is he chasing his father's ghost, or proving himself to disdainful, beautiful Jackie back in Canada? More questions. But he's bent on reaching Victoria Falls, the Smoke That Thunders. And then there's old Mr. Changwe, who lost a leg to Duma, and his teasing, seductive daughter Pepsi. Mr. Changwe has even more pressing reasons to get to the famous waterfall.

This is a very funny, deadpan, provocative book, and PJ Reece knows from the inside an Africa few of us have read about -- colourful, contradictory, and confounding every stereotype of the dark continent.

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, PJ Reece was raised and schooled on the northern prairie and graduated from the University of Alberta with a Geography degree. He immediately signed on with CUSO and for two years maintained a hydrological survey of the rivers of central Africa, setting for Smoke That Thunders. Fifteen years a cameraman/director, ten years ago Reece traded camera for keyboard and has since written ten feature film scripts, a novel, and numerous broadcast documentaries, including recently two for CBC Rough Cuts and one for A&E History Channel. Reece has won numerous awards for his work in film, and Smoke That Thunders, evolving from a collection of short stories into a screenplay and finally a novel, is his first book. He currently makes his home in British Columbia.